Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 4, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
homily
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Mongolian ScriptThe classic Mongolian script was the first of many writing systems created for the Mongolian language. It is still in use today—having been only slightly modified since its initial development—in China's Inner Mongolia region. The script was created in the early 13th century, when Genghis Khan ordered a captured scribe to create a writing system. In 1587, a number of new characters were devised to transcribe sounds from foreign languages. In what direction is Mongolian script written? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
.jpg) "Genie" the Feral Child Discovered by California Authorities (1970)One of the worst known cases of child abuse and social isolation in American history is that of "Genie," a girl forced to spend the first 13 years of her life alone in her bedroom, most of the time strapped to a potty chair. She was never spoken to and was apparently beaten if she attempted to speak. By the time she was discovered by authorities, she was nearly mute—her vocabulary consisted of about 20 words and a few short phrases. What did experts hope to learn by studying Genie? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Benjamin Robbins Curtis (1809)Curtis joined the US Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1851 but did not stay long. After dissenting with the court's ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case that upheld slavery and declared African Americans ineligible for full US citizenship, Curtis resigned, becoming the only justice to have resigned from the court over a matter of principle. Curtis returned to his home state of Massachusetts and resumed his law practice, later becoming chief counsel in what high profile case? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Tonga National Day (2016)Located in the Pacific Ocean some 1,250 miles north of New Zealand, the island nation of Tonga consists of about 150 islands, 36 of which are inhabited. With a population of about 120,000, Tonga is ruled by a royal family that goes back to 1831. On November 4, 1875, King George Tupou I gave his consent to the constitution of the new nation of Tonga. Celebrated for many years as Tonga Constitution Day, the holiday was renamed by the government in 2006 as Tonga National Day and pronounced as an occasion to celebrate the country's heritage as a whole. More... | |